An August Sunday Afternoon on Horseshoe Curve's West Side on the NS Pittsburgh Line

**WATCH IN HIGH QUALITY!**

8/9/09: After shooting trains into the early AM hours the same day at the Cassandra All-Nighter, I decided to take it easy the day after and sleep in til around 9AM. BUT, that DIDN'T mean I wouldn't be fanning the rest of the day! Nope, once I got my act together I decided to "treat myself" to fan one of the greatest locations on the face of the earth. That's right, YOU guessed it, the world famous Horseshoe Curve.

There are 3 main ways to view all the action around the Curve. 1) from inside the HSC Park in the middle, 2) up on the ATV trail on the east side, and 3) up on a wooded hillside on the west side. I decided to take the most difficult and physically strenuous view, which is option #3. Hiking up an 80 degree hillside about 100 feet up will eventually bring you out to an ATV trail, which when followed brings you out to the hillside to where this view is obtained. Is it worth the hike and aggravation in the high humidity and pounding August heat? You'd better believe it is.

12:39PM: 13G
C40-9W's #'s 9184 / 9282

(Skipped over the geeped-up 18G that ran at 1:10. That one gets its OWN video :)

1:24PM: 650
C40-9W's #'s 9853 / 9889
(Helpers: SD40-2's 3354/3343)

1:47PM: 28Z
SD70M-2 #2715
ES40DC #7555

2:07PM: 21M
C40-9W #9591
C40-9W #9541
SD70M-2 #2757

West Side of Horseshoe Curve - Altoona, PA
NS Pittsburgh Line - MP PT 242.1

"Lost Innocence"
UnSun
The End of Life

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• NS
• Norfolk Southern
• NS Pittsburgh Line
• NS East Slope
• Horseshoe Curve
• NS Horseshoe Curve
• Altoona PA
• Altoona
• PA
• Pennsylvania
• Altoona Horseshoe Curve
• NS Altoona
• Milepost 242
• Allegheny Mountains
• NS 13G
• NS 650
• NS 28Z
• NS 21M
• Autoracks
• Manifest
• Coal Train
• Coal Drag
• Coaldrag
• Intermodal
• TOFC
• Intermodal Hotshot

[b18cyacrxs]

So cool to see this spot, I've been up that side quite a few times, just a PIA climbing that hill, unless you know a way to drive right up to it. I usually park down right out of the tunnel and walk up

[AliceInChains243]

@b18cyacrxs It definitely is, but it's well worth the effort every time. There aren't many places where I would rather spend an afternoon than this spot. And I know there's a way to drive in via that ATV trail the opens out to the tracks right at the 242 milepost marker, but I have not the slightest clue where you can access that trail from the road. I've been wondering that for a long time now that I think about it.

[easy620r]

sweet vid, what's the song you got playing?? it sounds hot.....

[AliceInChains243]

@easy620r That would be "Lost Innocence" by UnSun off their The End of Life record. They're a great band out of Poland, every song on their two albums rocks from beginning to end.

[ns2527]

man you are in csx country do you be see mta i have been up stamford to catch amtrak action at least i can say i been to horseshoe before i die lol

[AliceInChains243]

@ns2527 Well, not exactly. The closest CSX activity to me is around the New Haven area and that's not much at all. I typically get my CSX fixes up on the B&A in the Berkshires or over on the River Line in the Hudson Valley. Currently I'm at school in Boston so I see enough action on the east end of the B&A when I go out shooting. I'm from Southwestern CT actually though my uploads don't exactly suggest it. I was actually just out a chasing P&W freights on the NEC a few days ago while I was home.

[AliceInChains243]

Haha it's cool man, I hear you. Although the majority of the vids on my channel say otherwise, I'm in the same boat as you. I'm a New Englander, and right now I'm alternating between living at home in CT or at college in MA, so I don't get out there all that much either. Last time I'd been there was back in October for the foliage (I highly recommend going the 2nd/3rd weekend in October for that, it's awesome), but I'd been in the Altoona area 4 other times in 2009 before then. Go figure hahaha.

[ns2527]

yeah railfest my bagg it was june 25 09 man u r so luckly i am in ny so i don't get to see ns like that i miss trains so bad i grew up in wva on ns pokey man i thank the lord for yall they way i can;t keep up

yeah i love them emd loco when they be screaming up the mountain do u ever railfan other places check out my pa vid

[AliceInChains243]

Oh, you mean Railfest? Backin the summer right? They always run excursions with Bennett Levin's PRR E8's on Railfest weekend.

No M-2's huh? I remember a day back last February where me and my friend Marc (NS6677) were watching trains down in Johnstown, and every single westbound pig/stacktrain had an M-2 on the point. Haha, it was MADDENING after awhile!

[ns2527]

the day i was there the was held up for i guess they call it CONRAIL historial society special but i was able to catch PRR E8 leading the its train down the mountain and when you film at horseshoe the trees around the curve also play a part but i was able to get a train in the hold curve man i was hoping to catch a pair NS sd70m-2 lead a hotshot up the mountain i would have lost my mind lol